What can Celtic fans expect from Vakoun Issouf Bayo?

What can Celtic fans expect from Vakoun Issouf Bayo?

CELTIC confirmed the signing of FC DAC 1904’s Vakoun Issouf Bayo on Tuesday evening, with the forward agreeing a four-year deal at the Scottish champions, subject to gaining a work permit and passing a medical.

The £2 million signing is Brendan Rodgers’ third addition to his squad this month, after OIiver Burke joined on loan from West Bromwich Albion and Timothy Weah arrived from Paris Saint Germain.

Bayo has featured regularly for his side in Slovenia but remains a bit of an unknown prospect, so what can Celtic fans expect of their new man? We’ve taken a look at the Ivorian to get an idea of what kind of player the young striker is.

Bayo has been a regular fixture for DAC 1904 this season and featured in their short-lived Europa League campaign, giving a decent account of himself. The 21-year-old scored all three goals in his side’s 3-2 aggregate win over Dinamo Tblisi in the first qualifying round before DAC were eliminated by Dinamo Minsk a fortnight later.

Domestically, Bayo has been one of the top strikers in the Slovakian top flight and leaves as the second-top scorer this season with 10 league goals, and another five in three appearances in the Slovakian Cup. Interestingly, the majority of Bayo’s league goals this season - six - have came through headers, as opposed to finishes with either foot.

The Ivorian’s strong run of form was rewarded with a first cap for his national side back in October, coming off the bench in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Central African Republic.

Bayo’s heading ability is one of the strongest assets the young forward possesses, despite not being a particularly burly forward. The 21-year-old measures in at six feet - not especially tall, for a centre forward - but is rather slight in his build. Rather than muscling players off the ball, Bayo’s impressive jumping ability and positional awareness helps him win headers, often to great effect.

Of his 64 efforts on goal in the league this season, 24 have been headers: no other player in the Slovakian top flight has attempted more. One in four end up in the back of the net, which is an impressive ratio for a striker who is still developing. Bayo also leads the way in touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes, averaging six in every match. This is testament to the striker’s quick feet, and his hold-up play.

It’s important to note that Bayo isn’t simply a target man. The striker is more than capable of peeling away from a defence if played through on goal and is relatively fast for a player his size. Bayo often played on the shoulder of an opposition defence, looking to get on the end of an incisive pass before driving towards goal.

Given that the Slovakian league is a relative unknown to the vast majority of Scottish football fans, pointing to Bayo’s standout performances in this arena perhaps isn’t the most enlightening way of describing him. So how, then, does the Ivorian compare to a familiar face?

Comparing players from two separate leagues isn’t an exact science, but it does reveal the type of forward Bayo is. For comparison’s sake, the graphic above contrasts Celtic’s new signing’s stats per 90 minutes with that of their main forward, Odsonne Edouard.

We can see that Bayo’s goalscoring record is marginally higher than Edouard’s, but we shouldn’t read too much into this as the two players compete in different competitions and Bayo was enjoying a particularly prolific season in front of goal. Celtic fans should, however, be encouraged by the Ivorian’s expected goals (xG). The 21-year-old’s scoring record is higher than his xG - so he’s scoring more goals than he reasonably ought to - but this is perhaps unsurprising, as he’s also hitting significantly more shots (3.97 per 90) than Edouard (2.77).

Celtic’s French striker hits slightly more of his shots on target - 45%, compared to Bayo’s 41% - and dribbles around twice as much as his new team-mate. Bayo averages more touches in the box than Edouard, suggesting that his hold-up play is a little better.

While Bayo possesses the pace required to outstrip a defence, dribbling is undoubtedly an aspect of his game which requires improvement. Less than half of the 21-year-old’s dribbles (41.9%) are successful, compared to Edouard’s 73.1%. Similarly, Bayo will need to work on setting up chances for his team-mates rather than going it alone: Edouard has a higher rate of key passes - passes that lead directly to a shot - than Bayo. The Ivorian’s hold-up play is impressive but, if he’s to make the most out of this talent, he needs to do a little better when it comes to setting up opportunities for others.

Ultimately, we should be expecting Bayo to be breaking beyond the opposition defence regularly and fashioning opportunities for himself. From Rodgers’ perspective, the most pressing matter will be to work on Bayo’s link-up play with his fellow forwards, with the Celtic manager guiding the young striker to look for an onrushing teammate rather than trying to beat his man when his back is to goal. Bayo’s positioning and heading ability is undoubtedly one his biggest strengths and could be a useful weapon for Celtic to deploy at set pieces. All in all, the raw ingredients are there for Bayo to develop into a top striker. If he’s coached correctly, then Bayo could light up the Premiership for years to come.

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